# Trump hands Merkel a bullshit bill for $374B **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089 "2017-03-26T19:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/1 "2017-03-26T19:28:40Z")
I’m just cringing in embarrassment at the thought that the President of the United States actually printed up a bullshit invoice for Germany’s shortfall below 2% of GDP on defense, plus interest. And handed it to Merkel. Does ‘diplomacy’ have an antonym? Sheesh. This is beyond merely tacky and juvenile. It’s those things, too, but the context propels them well past that. Seriously, doesn’t this make _Republicans_ cringe in embarrassment? (And I’m thinking about Congresscritters and the like, not just Republican voters.) Because it should. And as one tweet I saw said, “The conservatives who said Obama turned the US into a laughingstock on the international stage owe him an apology.” Bigly. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/2 "2017-03-26T19:32:54Z")
It would be nice if just ONE pro-Trump Republican would admit to being embarrassed by this. I would also like a pony. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/3 "2017-03-26T19:35:00Z")
Trump has done a lot of things that make me wince, but on some level I can understand the motivation and goal. This is just fuckin’ junior high level, like a spurned date sending a bill for the prom dress and hairdo. What a classless, white trash piece of shit. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/4 "2017-03-26T19:46:48Z")
The White House has [denied the report](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/white-house-shoots-down-german-174741001.html). ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/5 "2017-03-26T19:50:43Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > The White House has [denied the report](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/white-house-shoots-down-german-174741001.html). Sad fuckin’ day when I believe the Germans implicitly and snort at the denial. Who here really thinks the Merkel administration would make up such a stupid, juvenile claim? Who here disbelieves that Trumpy would do exactly this jerkwad “negotiating tactic”? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/6 "2017-03-26T19:55:58Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > The White House has [denied the report](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/white-house-shoots-down-german-174741001.html). Which is Trumpsprech for confirming the report. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/7 "2017-03-26T20:13:51Z")
I’d like to see this reported by more than one news source and supported by more than “anonymous sources”. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/8 "2017-03-26T20:15:45Z")
“Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!” -[the big Cheeto, 18 March](http://www.amny.com/news/politics/trump-tweets-about-obamacare-russia-angela-merkel-snoop-dogg-more-1.12652941) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/9 "2017-03-26T20:28:19Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’d like to see this reported by more than one news source and supported by more than “anonymous sources”. I’m with John, it would be nice (even in the pit) to have some sources…oh, like the Times of London ([http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-dismisses-white-houses-intimidating-300bn-bill-for-defence-dl7dk629k](http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-dismisses-white-houses-intimidating-300bn-bill-for-defence-dl7dk629k)) or The Independent ([Donald Trump 'printed out fake £300bn Nato invoice and handed it to Angela Merkel' | The Independent | The Independent](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-angela-merkel-nato-bill-defence-ignore-usa-germany-spending-a7650636.html)) Both solid British sources. That noted, the reportage seems to be virtually the same in all accounts on-line and some more confirmation would be welcome. And that noted, it strikes me as just the type of thing President trump would consider ‘diplomatic’. Good. God. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/10 "2017-03-26T20:33:38Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I’m with John, it would be nice (even in the pit) to have some sources…oh, like the Times of London ([http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-dismisses-white-houses-intimidating-300bn-bill-for-defence-dl7dk629k](http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-dismisses-white-houses-intimidating-300bn-bill-for-defence-dl7dk629k)) or The Independent ([Donald Trump 'printed out fake £300bn Nato invoice and handed it to Angela Merkel' | The Independent | The Independent](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-angela-merkel-nato-bill-defence-ignore-usa-germany-spending-a7650636.html)) Both solid British sources. This do it for you, **John Mace**? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/11 "2017-03-26T20:40:05Z")
The article from The Independent uses passive voice an awful lot and otherwise mentions the article from The Sunday Times, so there still seems to be only one source for the story. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/12 "2017-03-26T20:46:28Z")
This is the same type of bill a 10-year old would give his younger sibling for breathing his air. Merkel should check if he left a frog in her purse. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/13 "2017-03-26T21:07:23Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The article from The Independent uses passive voice an awful lot and otherwise mentions the article from The Sunday Times, so there still seems to be only one source for the story. Isn’t it kind of weird the source is a British paper? I’d think if German gov’t officals wanted to leak a story about their relationship with the US, they’d go to a German paper, or barring that, a US one. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/14 "2017-03-26T21:09:53Z")
I’m a little skeptical, too. All the stories are the same source; all rely on an unnamed source. None are confirmed by Merkel or any actual official of either government. There’s no image of the “invoice.” Perhaps most pertinently, it’s out of character for Trump to actually hinge anything he does on an actual number. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/15 "2017-03-26T21:11:43Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Perhaps most pertinently, it’s out of character for Trump to actually hinge anything he does on an actual number. Is “The most awesome number ever” an actual number? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/16 "2017-03-26T21:30:43Z")
I’m seeing other reports painting the invoice as real, albeit a poor attempt at a joke. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/17 "2017-03-26T21:38:36Z")
> [@](#): > > “No, this is not true,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said when Business Insider reached out to the White House for comment. “Oh, stewardess? I speak Spicer.” That means it is 100% true. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/18 "2017-03-26T21:41:07Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > This is the same type of bill a 10-year old would give his younger sibling for breathing his air. > > Merkel should check if he left a frog in her purse. Suggested method: Open the purse and call, “Here, Pepe! Come here Pepe!” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/19 "2017-03-26T21:52:43Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I’m with John, it would be nice (even in the pit) to have some sources…oh, like the Times of London ([http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-dismisses-white-houses-intimidating-300bn-bill-for-defence-dl7dk629k](http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-dismisses-white-houses-intimidating-300bn-bill-for-defence-dl7dk629k)) or The Independent ([Donald Trump 'printed out fake £300bn Nato invoice and handed it to Angela Merkel' | The Independent | The Independent](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-angela-merkel-nato-bill-defence-ignore-usa-germany-spending-a7650636.html)) Both solid British sources. > > That noted, the reportage seems to be virtually the same in all accounts on-line and some more confirmation would be welcome. And that noted, it strikes me as just the type of thing President trump would consider ‘diplomatic’. Good. God. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > This do it for you, **John Mace**? It’s unclear to me that the second source is independent of the first, since it references the first. It also contradicts that a specific amount was given (or known to be given). I’m not saying it’s out of the realm of possibilities, and it could be that Trump’s denial is related to the exact amount being reported. But I’d like to see more than one source. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089/20 "2017-03-26T22:01:26Z")
If you were the Russians, and you wanted to totally buttfuck America as a world power and a society, you’d want a stooge who is coincidentally doing exactly what Trump is doing. Funny that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-hands-merkel-a-bullshit-bill-for-374b/783089.md?page=2)